Simple ways to improve your resume

These days, job hunters face a challenge: there aren’t too many opportunities out there, and yet there’s no shortage of candidates. Securing the job you want can be a real dogfight.

How, then, do you stay ahead of the game in such a highly competitive environment? A good place to start is with your resume.

Your CV is often a potential employer’s first introduction to you and your work. It does far more than simply list your career history and other achievements: if packaged properly, it can sell that list as something exceptional that other candidates lack. A well-crafted resume can give you a significant advantage over other, sometimes equally-qualified applicants.

It’s with this in mind that working.com provides a few pointers on how to improve your resume. For more information, we recommend you read further by checking out the links provided below.

Hiring managers have to pore through dozens, if not hundreds, of resumes in their search for the right candidate. But here’s the thing: most people can’t write. Sure, they can throw together a good list of credentials and organize it reasonably well. But a mastery of the English language can push your application over the top – or at least save it from the recycling bin. Don’t underestimate the importance of good writing.

Don’t use cliches or stale buzzwords such as “creative” or “team player”. You can do better than that.

Many of us have gone through extended periods of time when we didn’t work. And while a gap in your employment history is common and often easily explained, a good resume can’t be full of holes. Do your best to fill in your timeline. If you weren’t working, was there anything else worthwhile you were doing outside of employment? Education, volunteer work or other interesting activities (i.e. are you a musician?) can round out your CV nicely.

As a time-saving exercise, potential employers are increasingly turning to computer searches to find terms that identify candidates with relevant experience. All this means is that job applicants need to spend some extra time to tailor their resumes to the posted job requirements. It’s about learning how to make your own personal work experience more relevant to the job you’re applying for.

A cover letter may be treated as an afterthought by some job applicants. It’s even true that many hiring managers skip straight to page two. But that doesn’t mean you should assume that no one’s going to read it. Like anything else, the importance of a cover letter depends on who’s looking at it – and some may even consider it more important than your resume.

Consider the cover letter to be your first impression. After all, to anyone looking at your resume, it’s the first thing they see. Whether they read it or not is ultimately not your concern, and it’s a risky gamble to underestimate the power of a well-written introduction to your CV. In fact, a good one could even say a lot more about you than a simple perusal of your employment and educational history ever could.

So make it matter. Take time on the cover letter. Assume that it’s important to the person reviewing it. Never dismiss your cover letter as an opportunity to cut corners.

Generally speaking, references aren’t included on a resume. A simple “resumes available upon request” will suffice. But make sure you have a few good people lined up who, when called upon, will sing your praises without hesitation. Relying on someone less trustworthy might land you a bad reference, and is therefore a risk that no job applicant can afford to take. A bad reference, after all, is worse than no reference.

The idea of maintaining a good list of reliable contacts is particularly important if you’ve been at your job for a long period of time, since there’s a tendency among people to nurture their professional contacts only when they’re needed. It’s risky, because if you lose touch with them, you may not be able to count on them when the time comes to ask for a reference. And conversely, what they have to say about you could no longer be accurate – or they might not even remember who you are.

Employers often will hire people in the hopes that they won’t have to spend too much time training them. They want to see that you’ll be able to “hit the ground running”, so to speak, from the first day on the job. Given all the wonderful skills and talents you no doubt have, take time to show them off on your resume. What software skills do you have? What challenges did you face down in previous jobs? Are you a tech-savvy, creative problem-solver? Excellent – just don’t use those words to describe yourself (see #1).

Most importantly, pay attention to the description of the job in the posting and do your best to align your credentials with the requirements of the position to which you’re applying. If you can clearly illustrate that you already have what they’re looking for, then your chances of getting an interview are much greater than if you simply rattled off a list of skills and qualifications.

This rule essentially goes back to the first one. The idea is that good writing doesn’t require you to be wordy. In fact, in most cases (unless, perhaps, you’re writing a novel), it’s the opposite. Cut out any words you don’t need. Say only what you need to say, say it well, and in as few words as possible. This is especially important in the context of writing a resume, since you’re working with limited space for an audience that’s not interested in spending a whole lot of time reading it.

When in doubt, just think of the classic, not-at-all-stale acronym, KISS: Keep It Simple, Stupid!